


The Obedient Demon

by BluePlanetTrash



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Demons, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Exorcist Shiro, Familiars, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Whump, demon lance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-06
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-01-30 04:25:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12646047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BluePlanetTrash/pseuds/BluePlanetTrash
Summary: Lance didn't know what he always was doing wrong. All he wanted was for Shiro to be proud of him and not be ashamed of him when they went to headquarters. He could only hope that someday he would succeed.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I read Twisted Tails by GreenFlamedWriter on here and I wanted to write something like it. So here it is!

Shiro could feel his eyebrows twitching in anger as he watched his familiar wreaking havoc across town while trying to down a massive demon. He glanced to his right and saw Coran, Allura, and Shay looking at him with unimpressed faces. He could only shrug his shoulders in response and look toward the fight. He had specifically told him that he was not to let the demon leave the circle of light that the exorcists were trying to set up talisman around. So what did he do? Immediately lead the demon out of the circle, direct disobedience like always. He gritted his teeth and rubbed the bridge of his nose as he watched Lance work with the other familiars to take down the giant beast with a crash. As usual, Lance was left behind the other familiars as they began running back to their Masters.  

“Good work Hunk,” Shay cheered as Hunk landed beside her, immediately pulling the dog demon into a warm Hunk. The smile on Hunk’s face was practically blinding and his tail wagged excitedly behind him.

“Amazing job today, Keith,” Allura praised extending her fist out. The fox demon smiled and bumped it with his own. Like Hunk, his tail wagged behind him.

“Quite commendable Pidge!” Coran said with a flourish ruffling her hair when she flew up and landed beside him. Her wings puffed up and she smiled up at her Master. Shiro watched in envy at the other exorcists. Why did he have to have the difficult familiar? Speaking of familiar, he watched Lance grasp onto the ledge of the building and heave himself up on top. He noticed Lance look over to the other pairs and he had a longing look in his eyes.

“Lance!” Shiro barked. Lance’s eyes widened and his head shot to his Master, cat ears raised and tail gently moving side to side. As soon as he saw Shiro’s rage-filled eyes, his ears pressed to the top of his head and his tail flopped to the ground. He looked dejectedly down at the ground.  

“You directly disobeyed me Lance,” he growled noticing the familiar start trembling lightly. “Again,” he bit out. Lance’s eyes widened and he spat out phrases in Enochian gesturing around himself with slightly wild eyes. The other pairs looked on with bored eyes, much too used to the sight.

“Quiet,” Shiro commanded. Lance stopped for a second before more phrases started falling from his mouth at light speed. Shiro gritted his teeth at the words; he had told the demon when he first became his familiar that he was to speak English, which he still has yet to do. He snapped his fingers and Lance’s lips immediately clamped shut, panic was visible in his eyes as he scratched at his mouth.

“Come on, lets go,” Shiro said turning around at walking away. He heard a muffled yelp behind him then silence, he continued walking towards the exit and looked behind him. He was used to Lance not following him to the car, but because of his actions today he was beyond pissed when saw Lance standing where he had previously been sitting. He was looking down at the ground and had his arms limply at his sides. An annoyed breath came out of Shiro’s mouth before he stalked back over and grabbed Lance’s upper arm, dragging him bodily out to the car. After a short while Lance began following him on his own and he let go. Without prompt Lance climbed into the passenger side and buckled up without looking at Shiro. He started the car and cruised down the road towards his home; he lived near the woods, close enough to town to be able to get to the city in case of an emergency but far enough away to house a demon like Lance. He wanted to move into the city with his friends but because Lance was so disobedient, he had to keep him away from any other humans.

“I don’t understand Lance,” he said after a few minutes of driving. He saw the demon let out a slight flinch out of the corner of his eye. “The only time I am ever mean to you is when I’m punishing you, so why don’t you just obey me?” Shiro glanced over and saw the demon watching him with wide eyes. He was sitting with his legs on the seat and was pushing his body into the door. Shiro just sighed again and snapped his fingers releasing the spell from his mouth. Even then Lance stayed silent, watching his master.

“We could be just as good as Allura and Keith,” He mused gripping the wheel tightly. “So why can’t you be more like Keith?” He spat out the question, ignoring the quiet whimper that came out of Lance’s mouth. Lance let out a hesitant, warbling phrase of Enochian. He looked over and saw tears rolling down the demon’s cheeks which he was trying to wipe away.

“No, you don’t get to cry, you messed up Lance,” Shiro growled. Lance only choked and put his head in his hands at let out a long drawn out wail. Shiro only rolled his eyes put all of his attention on to the road. He was sick of this fake act, every mission it was the same thing. Get there, disobey, cry, and punishment. Honestly, it was getting really old.

He rolled into the driveway and shut off the car before looking over at Lance. Who when seeing the house began shaking in fear. He glanced over at Shiro and seemed to shrink into himself at the glare that he was receiving.

“Lets go,” he grimaced exiting the car. As usual Lance stayed in the car with watchful eyes but as Shiro came around to his side exited in a hurry. He slammed the door and ran to Shiro’s side with wide eyes. They passed through the threshold of the door and Shiro shut it firmly behind him. Lance walked forward, at noticing that Shiro was not beside him anymore he looked behind him. With that Shiro let out a chant and Lance collapsed to the floor with a wail of pain.

* * *

“Lead the demon out of the circle of light, the exorcist must put up the talismans,” Shiro ordered. 

Lance gave the man a nod and leapt off of the building, watching the other familiars jump around the beast. There was no way that he could mess this up; lead the demon out, simple. So he did it. He let out a smile, he did it. Maybe Master would praise him like all of the other Masters did for their familiars. His ears perked up when he heard angry shouts from behind him and looked behind to see the others looking at him with glares of distain. He could ask them what was wrong, but he knew that they had long forgotten the knowledge of Enochian and the first thing that Master told him was that he was not to speak English. He has never done so, and he never will. He was brought out of his musing when the demon let out a loud groan and started falling down onto the street. He let out a quiet whoop of glee and turned to the other familiars, his smile fell quickly as he watched them head back to their Masters cheerfully yelling to one another. Without a second thought he ran after them, by the time he got back to the building they had already gone over the ledge. He scaled quickly, not wanting to keep Shiro waiting for him. He had already been enough of a burden to the man, he saw how people looked at them when they travelled through Headquarters. Finally he gripped the ledge and hulled himself up; he wanted to look up at his Master but was distracted by the other pairs to the side of them. He followed orders perfectly today, maybe he would be praised today instead.

“Lance!” Shiro’s voice shook him out of his musings and he quickly looked towards the man. His tail was weakly wagging behind him, and the hope in his heart was quickly expanding. Shiro’s eyebrows lowered in a glare and he felt the hope shatter. His tail fell behind him and his ears lowered in shame. He looked down at the ground, trying to avoid the angry look he was getting from his Master.

“You disobeyed me, Lance,” he growled. Lance could feel his muscles begin to tremble. He didn’t mean to disobey, he didn’t understand. He followed his commands perfectly. No, he always messed up, it was obviously something that he had done.

“Again,” at this, he shot up in desperation.

 _ **“Master, please! I didn’t mean to disobey, I’m trying to do as you say but I don’t understand. Please, I’m sorry!”**_ He said pleadingly, he knew that his master didn’t understand but he had to at least try. He glanced at the pairs off to the side and felt desperation climbing in his stomach.

 _ **“I can be like them,”**_ he said gesturing towards them with frantic hands. _**“Just give me another chance Master, I can make you proud! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”**_

“Speak,” the word came as a shock to Lance. He paused for a moment in confusion but willingly obeyed.

 ** _“I can be just as good as them, I’ll get better I pro-”_** he was cut off by Shiro snapping his fingers. Knowing the familiar feeling of the silencing spell didn’t stop the fear from claiming him again and he began scratching at his mouth and chin in an effort to release himself.

“Stay here,” the command sat in his stomach like cement and he looked up with wide eyes as his Master turned his back on him. A yelp was blocked by the spell as he scrambled to his feet, and a step forward before remembering his words. He stepped back where he was sitting and watched with wide eyes as Shiro began retreating to the exit. He hands fell to his sides and his head dropped to look at the ground once more. He certainly didn’t deserve to be Shiro’s familiar; he was a top level exorcist with a lacklustre demon following on his heels all the time. He almost yelled in surprise when Shiro’s hand grabbed him by the arm and started pulling him to the exit. He quickly followed half to keep up with the man and half to ease the squeezing on his bicep. He was relived when he let go of him, trusting him to follow behind him.

Sliding into the car was a relief but also made a shot of fear go through him. He knew that he had a punishment waiting for him when he got home, and by the look on Shiro’s face it wasn’t going to be a pretty one. The trees of the forest flew by as they drove home, almost taunting him as they passed.

“I don’t understand Lance,” he flinched when his Master began talking to him. “The only time I am ever mean to you is when I’m punishing you, so why don’t you just obey me?” Lance looked at him with wide eyes, confusion like always clouding his mind. All he ever did was obey. He doesn’t understand. He never understands. He feels the spell come off of him, but he just continues to look at his Master waiting patiently for him to speak.

“We could be just as good as Allura and Keith,” Shiro mused. Lance freezes. No. Please don’t say it. He’s never said it before, so please don’t say it.

“So why can’t you be more like Keith?” He spat. Without his permission, Lance lets out a quivering whimper. Even as hot tears start to roll down his cheeks, he still looks at his Master who doesn’t even glance at him.

 _ **“I’m sorry Master; I can be more like Keith, I promise,”**_ he said quietly. He sniffed and tried to wipe the tears from his face.

“No, you don’t get to cry, you messed up Lance,” Shiro growled. He chokes and tries to muffle the sad wail with his hands. He knows. He knows he messed up. He knows its his own fault that his Master wants to replace him. He knows that he should be more like Keith, but he doesn’t know how. He feels the car rolling to a stop a few minutes later and sits up. Once again his muscles began shaking and he glanced at his Master. Unsurprisingly he is glaring at him and Lance could feel himself curling into himself at the look.

“Stay here,” he sighed. Lance once obeyed and watched his Master go towards the house, look back at him and start heading towards his side of the car. Not wanting to be dragged again he quickly exited and ran up beside him. Walking through the doorway; he knew that he needed to be prepared at anytime to be punished. Usually Master would let him have supper and then he would be punished, but he wasn’t sure about today. His Master seemed awfully upset with Lance since the beginning of the day. He glanced to the side trying to gauge Shiro’s expression and stopped when he noticed that he wasn’t there. He turned around and caught a glimpse of the man who was opening his mouth.

Pain. Pain. Pain.

* * *

Shiro walked forward past Lance into the kitchen. He made himself and Lance sandwiches and sat the demon’s on the table in the kitchen. He walked back into the living room and sat on the couch in front of Lance who was writhing around on the floor. He didn’t like seeing the demon in so much pain but he needed to learn what was and was not acceptable in the human world. This was the eighth punishment he had to give Lance in the last two weeks, including having to be rough with him during missions to get his point across. He watched Lance carefully as he finished his sandwich, making sure that the punishment was getting across, while still not causing too much distress. As he put the last bit of food in his mouth, he snapped his fingers and Lance went still. He slowly began pushing himself off of the ground and hesitantly looked up at Shiro.

“There’s a sandwich on the counter,” is all he said looking at the wall. He heard scampering feet leave the room and fade into the kitchen. He only looked away when he heard a notification go off on his phone. It was a text from Allura, he swiped and his messages popped up on the screen.

**“Princess” Allura: Your examination time for tomorrow is at 2:00pm. Don’t be late and try to have Lance on his best behaviour, the priests are going to be here. Have a good night!!**

Shiro sighed and leaned back on the cushion. He had been waiting for this day to come for years. The examination happened once every five years, for exorcists to have their demons examined for anything that may be ailing them. Shiro was hoping for them to cure Lance’s affinity with disobeying orders and if it came down to it, send him back to where he came from in order to summon a new familiar. He wiped a hand down his face and closed his eyes. Quiet steps were approaching him and he brought his attention to the demon standing stiffly in front of him. The anger hadn’t quite left him at that point, but it was overkill if he went any further.

“Our examination is at 2 at Headquarters tomorrow,” he announced sitting up. “Go get some sleep,” he nodded his head towards the stairs to the second floor. After a beat Lance padded towards the stairs and slowly climbed them. Before he disappeared to his room, he heard let out a quiet mumble. The same thing he had been saying since he arrived in Shiro house. He still doesn’t know what he is saying, at this point it doesn’t really matter either.

* * *

Pain.

So much pain.

It hurts.

Please stop.

P L E A S E

White-hot agony coursed through his veins. He was unaware of anything that was going on in the room around him. There was only him and the never-ending crushing feeling everywhere. Just as suddenly as it started, it stopped. Lance slumped over onto the floor with a near silent sob. Sweat dripped off of him and he shakily got his hands under him and pushed himself up onto his knees. His body was shaking with pain as he got up the courage to look at his Master.

“There’s a sandwich on the counter,” Shiro said looking away from him. Lance needed no other motivation before he was up and nearly sprinting out of the room away from him. He stopped in the kitchen and picked up the sandwich before sitting on the floor in the corner. As he took a bite he thought of his promise to Shiro, how he would try to be more like Keith but he couldn’t find the differences between the two of them. They both obeyed their orders and they both cared for their Masters. He took another bite of his sandwich and looked around the place that he has been calling home for five years now. He hoped that Master could find it in his heart to let him stay. Even if he was a bad familiar.

After he was finished with his food, he walked into the living room. Shiro was sitting on the couch with his eyes closed. He hesitantly walked forward, knowing that he had been angry with him all day. He stopped in front of him and tensed, not sure what to expect from him.

“Our examination is at 2 at Headquarters tomorrow,” he announced. Oh. Lance has been dreading this day for ages. It was the one time every five years that a demon could be sent back to Hell, and by the way his time with Shiro has been going, he suspected that he would be sent back without hesitation.

“Stay up all night,” he muttered nodding to the stairs. Lance paused for a second at the command but walked up the stairs regardless. At the top, he paused and looked back down at the exorcist.

_**“Good night Master, thank you,”** _

* * *

Lance could only utter a thank you to the fact that a lack of sleep doesn’t do much to him. He stared attentively out the windshield as they got closer to the Headquarters. He could see the tallest white and blue peak in the distance and could feel his ears press against his head. He wasn’t the biggest fan of the Headquarters, he could feel all of the other’s judgemental stares. He felt ashamed that he was causing them to be shot to his Master. It wasn’t his fault that he couldn’t listen right.

“We’re almost there Lance,” Shiro commented. It was the first time he spoke to Lance that day. He decided that he would avoid giving Lance commands, hopefully that would keep him on his best behaviour and they could get to the root of his problem. He stayed silent when they left the car, and walked down the halls towards the exam room. The whole time Lance kept himself scarce and made sure not to get in anyone’s way on the walk there.

“Oh, hello Shiro!” A cheery voice greeted them.

“Hi Shay,” Shiro replied with a grin of his own. She was standing with Hunk, Allura, and Keith. Both Shay and Allura walked up to Shiro leaving the three demons behind. Hunk and Keith both looked at Lance with thinly veiled eyes of anger.

“You really shouldn’t be taking advantage of Shiro’s kindness like you have,” Keith growled. Lance’s tail tucked between his legs as the fox demon stepped closer.

 ** _“I’m sorry, I don’t try to,”_** he whimpered putting his hands out in front of him. Keith let out a sigh and massaged the bridge of his nose.

“For the last time Lance; we don’t speak Enochian anymore, stop speaking it,” he muttered in frustration.

 ** _“B-but Master doesn’t want me to,”_** he stuttered out instead.

“Look Lance,” Hunk butted in, bumping Keith out of the way. “You’re a demon, we get it. We’re all demons, its much easier and leads to a better life if you just listen to Shiro,” he stated calmly. Lance went to answer but was interrupted by the doors of the exam room opening. Hunk and Keith rushed past knocking shoulders with him as they went to greet Pidge. He turned to look at them and bit his lip when an overwhelming feeling of loneliness crept into his stomach.

“Lance!” Shiro called. His ears perked up and the man gestured to the door with a wave. Immediately Lance walked over and through the doorway to the shock of the others in the room. Before Shiro could go through after him, Allura grabbed his elbow.

“When you’re done, we have a job to do,” he nodded in understanding and turned away. Lance was walking a couple feet ahead of him, and he quickly caught up to him. The room they were in was lit by an uncountable number of candles and covered in various demon wards and religious items. It was shaped like a pentagon with had a tall painted ceiling, and a intricate circle painted onto the ground. This was the only place in the continent where demons were allowed to be summoned or examined in anyway. The last time Shiro was here, was when they summoned Lance, the only difference was that the Head Priest was present. When Lance was summoned, the Head Priest had been away on a mission.

“So this is Lance,” he mused with a grin. Despite his title, the Head Priest was a gentle, and friendly old man. “Its nice to finally meet you,” he inclined his head. Lance returned it with a shaky nod and clasped his hands in front of him. The Head Priest gestured to the circle and Lance hurriedly walked into the centre. That gained another shocked look to fall on Shiro’s face. The Head Priest ignored him and began his chant, causing Lance to become limp where he stood and his eyes to brightly glow blue. After a few minutes he stopped chanting and looked over the circle to Shiro.

“Judging by the look on your face, I’m going to guess you’ve been having trouble with Lance’s obedience,” he said with a chuckle. Shiro sputtered for a few seconds before he could get the words out.

“Well, yes I have,” he said. “Actually from the moment he was summoned, he’s never been obedient,” he admitted. The Head Priest became confused and abandoned the circle to pick up a large leather-bound book. He brought it over to a table and gestured for Shiro to come over.

“What was the date of Lance’s summoning?” He asked opening the book.

“July 28th,” he stated unsure of what was going on. The Head Priest ignored him and flipped through the book to the date. Shiro could see on the page, his name, Lance’s name, various other information, and a picture of the summoning circle they used that day. He looked at the man, confused by what he was doing but he was only staring at the pages. After a few minutes of silence, the Head Priest let out a tired sigh and closed the book in front of him. He turned and started walking towards the circle again.

“Excuse me, but what is happening?” Shiro asked abandoning the table as well.

“Whomever your priest was that day, they drew the summoning circle incorrectly,” he informed him. He walked into the circle and carefully drew several more lines around Lance’s unmoving body.

“What?” Shiro cried.

“They drew the translation part of the circle wrong, it caused whatever you commanded Lance to do, to come out opposite to him,” he explained stepping out of the circle to his original spot. “You said that he hasn’t once obeyed you?” he asked.

“No, he hasn’t,” Shiro replied quietly.

“You have one devoted, obedient familiar then,” he said with a small smile. Shiro could only nod, not quite processing everything yet. The Head Priest started chanting again, the lines of the circle glowed blue around Lance, a wind swept up his hair and clothes. The Head Priest kept going for several minutes before the light faded and Lance fell to the ground in a heap. He twitched and pushed himself up, first looking at the priest and then to Shiro. Shiro looked at the Head Priest who nodded to him.

“Lance, come here,” he ordered softly. Lance immediately stood up and walked over to the man. He stopped in front of him and looked up as if waiting for his next command.

“From now on, speak English,” he said next. Lance’s eyes widened but he nodded in understanding.

“Do you understand? Yes or no?” He asked patiently.

“Yes,” Lance said hesitantly. He was confused why his Master would change his mind on the first rule he made but he wasn’t able to question him. Not when he would be able to talk with the other familiars now.

“Good,” he heard Shiro say. He closed his eyes when Shiro lifted his hand but they shot wide open in shock when it gently laid across the crown of his head. Shiro’s hand calmly pat Lance’s head in praise and shocked, happy tears filled his eyes. From the moment he had been summoned, all he wanted was to be praised by Shiro. Every battle, every wound, every command, he went through was to receive his acceptance and he had just done it.

“Lance, I’m sorry,” Shiro said. Lance looked up in confusion and cocked his head.

“What do you mean Master?” he asked.

“When you were summoned there was a mistake,” he started, leading him over to the book. “Every command you’ve been hearing from me has been wrong,” he explained showing him his circle. Lance thought about it for a second, every command running through his head like a movie. His hands flew up to his hair and he tugged on it in sudden anxiety.

“I haven’t obeyed you once,” he muttered in shock. Shiro looked down on him in worry and quietly grabbed his hands to get him to stop pulling it.

“That’s not true Lance, I know that you haven’t disobeyed me once,” he reassured him. He looked down at the floor shame crossing his face.

“I, on the other hand, have been punishing you unjustly,” he admitted looking into Lance’s eyes. “I will do everything in my power to make this life better for you,” he promised him. Lance looked at him in admiration and gave him a small nod.

“Now, do you think you’re up to taking down a demon?” He asked a strange mischievous sparkle in his eye. Lance gave him a small smirk.  
  


“Hell yeah!”


	2. Chapter 2

When Shiro and Lance got to the scene, the ghoul was still wreaking havoc. Shiro could see the other exorcists standing at the top of a parking garage and sharply turned into it. The tires screeched at the speed he was driving up to the top. At the sound, the exorcists turned as they scrambled out of the car and to the edge of the structure. Ignoring the looks of confusion on their faces, Shiro turned to look at Lance.

“I need you to get down there and prevent the ghoul from leaving the barriers, Keith in the team leader so listen to anything he says,” Shiro commanded. With a single nod, Lance leaped off the building and toward the fight. After a few moments, Allura cleared her throat and he turned to look at her.

“What?” He asked at her incredulous stare. Her eyebrows raised as if in disbelief.

“What you mean what? I thought you said that Lance was as good as gone,” she said gesturing back to the fight. Shiro sighed and rubbed his hand down his face.

“Something happened,” He said simply. He groaned at the unimpressed expressions on their faces.

“We have to debrief about the examinations later anyway, I’ll tell you then,” he tried instead. They looked to contemplate it for a second before nodding in approval. Just then a deafening crash echoed around them and they focused down to where the ghoul was beginning to topple.

“What just happened?” Shay asked confused.

“They never go down that easily,” Coran commented. As the beast fell to the ground, from the far barricade they could see Lance, a large glowing rifle pointed towards the monster.

“Is that?” Allura asked awed. Shiro squinted his eyes trying to see the weapon in more detail but the way it disappeared into thin air confirmed it.

“His spirit weapon,” he said proudly with a wide smile. Every demon had a weapon that was unique to their soul; Keith had a broadsword, Hunk a heavy machine gun, and Pidge a chain scythe, each tinted slightly with their colours; red, yellow, and green. Every fight, they summoned their weapons but this was the very first time that Lance had ever summoned his. Shiro couldn’t help the feeling of pride that was welling in his stomach for his familiar.

Even from so far away Shiro could see Lance looking up at them with a slightly apprehensive look on his face. Shiro gave him a single thumbs up and saw the ears on his head perk up slightly. By that time, the other demons were closer to the building than him and once again took off without him. With a jolt, he followed and Shiro frowned slightly at the other demons. Through his disappointment and annoyance at Lance’s behaviour, he missed how excluded Lance really was from the others. Hopefully, that would all change when Shiro revealed what had happened to the other exorcists. They met their masters with the same greetings and praises but his entire focus was on Lance as he climbed up in front of him. Lance gave him a little grin as he wiggled his way up and stood in front of him.

“Fantastic job out there, Lance,” he said gently petting the top of his head, in between his ears. Lance’s eyes widened and before he knew it, Lance was clutching his hand to the top of his head and letting out a wail.

* * *

“I need you to get down there and prevent the ghoul from leaving the barriers, Keith in the team leader so listen to anything he says,” Shiro commanded. Lance nodded and leapt off the building. Without a sound he hit the ground and ran towards the ghoul, immediately he noticed that the monster was about to break through the northern barricade, the furthest one away from him. He dropped to all fours and sprinted past the side streets and jumped on top of a street sign.

“Pidge, Hunk get it’s legs!” He heard Keith yell from behind the monster. Without a sound, the two swooped down and hit it’s ankles. It barely faltered before continuing forward.

No. He could finally make his master proud of him. He wasn’t going to let his first mission with a clean slate go anything but perfect. He started drawing on his energy to call his weapon. He knew that it had been five years since he summoned it but if there was ever a good time, it was now. With a blue flash, the familiar weight of his rifle fell into his hands. It took him less than a second to have the weapon raised and lined up for a perfect shot. It took him even less to pull the trigger and nail the disgusting creature in the forehead. The creature collapsed after that single blow.

He let the rifle burst into light and disappear from his hands. He knew that the visit to the priest today fixed whatever mistake was made before he was summoned but he couldn’t ignore the slight fear that still tingled in his mind. What if the circle didn’t change anything and he was still just a faulty familiar? With slight hesitation, he looked up at Shiro to try and gauge his reaction. His ears perked up when he received a little thumbs up. Did that mean he did good?

“Move out guys,” Keith’s voice called. With a start, he realized that they had already run ahead without him. Again. He jumped forward and tried to catch up to them but they were too fast for him. They didn’t like him and he knew that but maybe now they could become friends. He started scaling the building, slipping slightly in the process. He finally grasped the top and clawed his way to the top. Unlike after usual missions, Shiro had a grin on his face when he met his eyes. He couldn’t help the smile that stretched across his face and quickly scrambled up to stand in front of his master.

“Fantastic job out there, Lance,” he said gently. He couldn’t move as his Master’s hand fell between his ears and scratch his scalp. His Master is praising him, he did good. His hands reached up instinctually and held the hand in place, trying to preserve the friendly touch from Shiro in his memory. He couldn’t stop the wail that crawled out of his throat but he didn’t fight it away either. He expected Shiro to pull away quickly but instead, he heard him say something to the other exorcists and pull Lance to his chest. At the action, Lance let out another sad sob and pressed his face into the chest.

“Shh Lance, it’s okay, it’s all okay,” he comforted stroking his hair and ears back away from his face. He unsuccessfully tried to stop his cries but he couldn’t control his stuttering breathes. The next few minutes were filled with reassuring sounds from Shiro and the soft cries from Lance. Slowly brought his face away and blushed at the wet spot he could see on Shiro’s shirt. He nervously fluttered his hands around the stain and glanced from it to Shiro and back again.

“Master! I am so sorry, I didn’t mean to!” He cried with a blush on his face. Shiro let out a laugh and ruffled his hair again.

“Lance it’s okay,” he comforted him. Lance looked down at the ground and slightly nodded his head. He glanced over to where the exorcists were standing and realized that they weren’t there anymore. He looked back at Shiro in confusion.

“They went ahead to Headquarters,” Shiro said. Lance nodded and they headed back to the car. They climbed in and unlike the way they came in, they calmly drove back towards HQ.

“What happens now?” Lance asked looking at Shiro. Shiro hummed turning out of the garage and onto the street.

“I have to report with the other exorcist’s about what happened during our examination,” he replied. Lance nodded silently and looked forward. Even though he was just there, he couldn’t get rid of the niggling anxiety at going back. They didn’t go back often since Lance’s behaviour would be unpredictable. Soon enough they were pushing through the hallways of Headquarters.

“Shiro!” Shay called cheerfully with a wave as they got closer to the group. He raised a hand in greeting and stopped beside Allura and Keith. He put a hand on Lance’s shoulder and gave him a smile before the four of them walked into the boardroom and closed the door behind them. Lance’s tail and ears fell limply as he looked longingly towards the door. His ears swivelled when he heard the other demons start talking among themselves. He turned to face them and noticed that they were looking at him with open hostility.

“Um, hello,” he greeted softly.

* * *

After getting through Coran, Shay, and Allura’s report with nothing to note from them, they turned their attention to Shiro.

“What happened Shiro?” Coran asked gently when he didn’t readily give up any information to them. He sighed after a moment and looked up at them, they were shocked to see that his eyes were welling up with tears.

Shiro?” Allura asked placing a hand on his arm. He focused his eyes back to the table, unable to bring himself to look at their faces.

“The priest who summoned him, fucked up the circle somehow, so every command I’ve been giving Lance has come out the opposite of what I mean,” he explained putting his head in his hands. He sniffed and looked up to see their eyes widened in realization.

“Then that means… that Lance was being obedient the entire time?” Allura asked gently. Shiro nodded his head solemnly.

“And I’ve been punishing him for it,” he confirmed. They gasped and looked towards the door of the boardroom imaging the demon standing obediently outside.

“You couldn’t have known Shiro,” Coran said standing up from his chair and putting his hand comfortably on his shoulder. “All you need to worry about now, is giving Lance the best possible life now, you know he has been completely obedient, it’s time to reward him for that,” he stated when Shiro looked up to him.

“You’re right Coran,” Shiro said with a smile directed at the older exorcist.

“Of course I am!” he said merrily. “Now wipe those tears my boy, and go treat that familiar of yours!” he cheered wiping some tears off of Shiro’s cheeks and slapping him on both shoulders. Shiro gave him a single nod and they stood from their chairs to leave the room.

“Maybe we could start by introducing the other properly, we could have dinner or something at my place,” Shiro suggested. There was plenty of room at his house, they were far away from other people and the yard was big enough for the demon to play around with each other.

“That sounds like a marvellous idea!” Shay said with excitement, her hands clasped in front of herself with glee.

“I agree, I think that would certainly help Lance with socializing with the others,” Allura agreed. “Besides I don’t think Keith, Pidge, or Hunk have been able to run around freely for a good while,” she added thinking about the penthouse she and Keith lived in. Sure it was spacious but it was by no means appropriate for a pet, let alone a demon familiar.

“Perfect, we could even do it tonight or tomorrow,” Shiro said. “Or you know, whenever you guys are free,” he said rubbing the back of his neck.

“I’m good for tonight,” Allura said with a shrug.

“As am I, my boy,” Coran said twirling his moustache.

“Me too,” Shay said with a smile.

“I guess I’ll get cooking then, ooh maybe we could have a barbecue,” He said with glittery eyes.

“Shiro careful, your dad is showing,” Allura smirked nudging him in the side with her elbow. He pouted and pointedly ignored her, crossing his arms and facing Coran and Shay instead.

“Whatever is good with me,” Shay said, getting a nod from Coran as well.

“Hopefully this will work for them, they are a team after all, and they were able to function so it shouldn’t be too difficult,” Shiro said as they finally started towards the door.

“I don’t think it should either, who knows, maybe they already bonded while we were in here,” Coran said positively. Shiro gave him a thankful smile; he was right, Lance could speak English now after all. Maybe he was able to bond with them while he was spilling everything to his friends. He didn’t really know anything about Lance though, although he and Lance had been living together for five years, you miss out on a lot of things when you can’t communicate with someone.

Shiro turned the knob and walked out of the room. Although he sort of expected this result, it was somehow more disheartening than he thought it would be. Keith, Pidge, and Hunk all went around him to get to their masters. While Lance would usually rush to him as well, this time he stood still looking down at the ground as if he didn’t realize that they had come out. Shiro carefully crept forward and pet Lance’s hair, making his head snap up to look at him. Shiro’s eyes widened when he saw his face.

“Lance, what happened?” He asked looking at the scratches across his left cheek. He looked off to the side, not meeting Shiro’s eyes.

“It’s nothing, it was my fault anyway,” he muttered. Shiro’s eyes narrowed and he looked back at the pairs by the door. The exorcist’s eyes were focused on Shiro and Lance while their familiars tried vainly to attract their attention. Shiro took Lance’s shoulder and guided him over to them. The exorcists gasped when they saw the still sluggishly bleeding scratches on Lance and they finally turned their attention to their familiars.

“Who did that?” Allura asked sternly. The familiars froze, not used to Allura’s booming presence, especially in defence of Lance. After a moment of silence, Keith warily brought his trembling hand up. Her eyes snapped to him in disbelief.

“Keith? Why? I know you’re better than this,” she said, disappointment obvious in her tone. Keith seemed to curl up on himself, his ears folded back against his head and his tail curled between his legs as he looked up at his master’s disappointed stare.

“Master Allura?” A quiet voice asked. She looked over at Shiro and the demon still in his arms. “Please don’t blame Keith, it was me, I provoked him,” he said looking down at the ground. Shiro looked at him in confusion. Lance wouldn’t do anything like that, not willingly. He looked at Keith and also saw him looking at Lance in confusion.

“I’m very sorry,” he said bowing to the white-haired woman. She sighed and looked between the two demons. It was obvious that what Lance admitted wasn’t completely true but she wasn’t sure if she would get the whole story from either one of them.

“No matter, we’ll resolve this at a later time,” she decided, turning to face Shiro and Lance. “We’ll see you tonight then, text the group when we’re able to come over,” she said bringing her hand to the nape of Keith’s neck and leading him away from the group. He nodded to Coran and Shay as they passed by and noticed that Lance looked longingly at them as they passed by.

“Ahem,” Shiro cleared his throat gaining Lance’s attention. When the clear blue eyes looked up at him, he gave him a blinding smile.

“Let’s head home,”

* * *

“Um, hello,” he greeted softly. The hostile looks turned to shock and confusion.

“What the hell? Just earlier, you were refusing to speak English, now you have no problem?” Keith asked angrily. Lance’s ears pressed down warily at the tone and he back off slightly.

“Something happened while I was being summoned,” Lance tried coming forward a bit. “Everything I heard was opposite,” he explained simply. They shrugged and turned back to each other, once again ignoring the feline demon. His heart dropped as well as his smile as he looked on in sadness. After a few minutes, he worked up the courage to approach them once more.

“I’m really sorry I haven’t been the best teammate,” he said as a sort of icebreaker. They looked over at him once more, Keith with a raised brow.

“Whatever, it probably won’t be the last time,” he said scathingly. Lance ignored the sting from the comment and crept a bit closer. This time Keith noticed and stepped further back away from him with a huff. Lance paused and looked at him with hurt confusion.

“I really don’t want to talk to you Lance, you’ve messed up this team for five years,” Keith admitted with a scowl. Lance flinched back and looked at him with wide eyes.

“B-but, I didn’t mean to,” he said, tail falling limp.

“It doesn’t matter Lance, you should have been able to see it,” Keith snarled ignoring the protests from Hunk and Pidge.

“Is there anything I can do?” Lance asked worriedly. Keith’s eyes widened as suddenly Lance was much closer than before.

“You can back off, I seriously don’t want you near me,” he said seriously. Lance didn’t heed the warning and came closer, making Keith’s tail puff up in warning.

“Please, I’m sorry, I’ll do anything,” Lance pleaded.

“I’m serious Lance, back the fuck up,” he growled. The cat stopped for a moment before taking the last fatal step.

“But-,” is all he got out before Keith’s right hand shot up and his claws were raking down his cheek. He yowled and jumped back pressing his hand to his cheek in pain. He tried to blink the tears out of his eyes, so the salt water didn’t run down and burn the open wound. After a few pain-filled minutes he looked up at the fox demon who was standing in the same spot.

“I’m sorry,” he said earnestly. Keith looked at him in shock but quickly looked away when they heard the door to the boardroom opening. Lance looked down at the ground, trying to hide the wound from his master. He couldn’t ignore him when his hand landed in his hair though.

“Lance, what happened?” he asked him.

“It’s nothing, it was my fault anyway,” he muttered. It was true, it was his fault. Keith told him to leave him alone and he didn’t. Maybe he really was just a disobedient demon anyway. Shiro’s hand guided him towards the group and he couldn’t help but go forward with him. He was slightly surprised by the concern the other exorcists were showing him but he supposed he could understand since they now knew the truth.

“Who did that?” Allura asked sternly. He couldn’t help but flinch at how hard Allura’s voice sounded. He was used to her being approachable and open to others, this was a side he hadn’t seen of her before. He saw Keith’s hand go up into the air. He knew that Keith wasn’t scared of Allura and was only really scared of disappointing her. He saw the way his feature’s and appendages get limp and sad at her scolding. Really, he couldn’t sit through this, it wasn’t even he fault in the first place.

“Master Allura?” He asked summoning all the bravery he could. Her gaze snapped to him and he flinched slightly, not used to her eyes being on him at all.

“Please don’t blame Keith, it was me, I provoked him,” he stated. It was true, it’s all true. Don’t blame Keith, just blame me. It’s easier and I probably deserve it anyway.

“I’m very sorry,” he said earnestly. He bowed low to her and kept his eyes locked on the ground and didn’t come back up until he heard her and Keith’s footsteps echo down the hall. He looked up in time to watch Coran, Pidge, Shay, and Hunk leave behind them. He watched after them longingly, one day he hoped to have as good of a relationship with his master as good as theirs.

“Ahem,” the guttural cough of Shiro brought him out of his musings and he looked up at the man with a smile.

“Let’s go home,” he said walking towards the parking lot. “We’ve got a lot of work to do,”

“What do you mean?” Lance asked curiously.

“We are going to properly introduce you to the other familiars,” Shiro replied. Lance gulped and looked up at him.

“I won’t let Keith hurt you this time, I promise,” he said earnestly. Lance nodded this head in understanding.

“I believe you,” Lance said softly. Shiro smiled and ruffled Lance’s hair again, cementing the habit into their lives.

“I promise from now on, I’ll be there for you,”  


	3. Chapter 3

As soon as Lance realized that everybody would be coming to their house, he immediately got to work cleaning up. Although Shiro knew that he was a bit of a clean freak, he had never seen Lance this focused on tidying the house.

“Lance calm down, it’s not like its the first time you’ve met them,” Shiro chuckled putting his hand down on Lance’s shoulder.

“Nope, just the first time I can actually talk to them,” he sighed sweeping across the floor with a broom. Shiro stared at him sadly. All of this was really his fault. He stepped up behind him and wrapped him in a hug.

“Don’t worry Lance, they will grow to love you,” he said comfortably. “I’ve only known the real you for a day and a half and that doesn’t even compare to the past five years,”

Lance purred affectionately and rubbed his head on Shiro’s chest. He chuckled and pet Lance’s ears back.

“How’s your cheek?” He asked peeling the bandage away from where Keith scratched him earlier. Underneath was clear, unblemished skin. Shiro smiled and threw the bandage away.

“Everything will turn out fine,” he said soothingly. Lance was hesitant to believe him but he was willing to give it his best. He pulled away and picked up the broom again. Shiro sighed but turned back to his task as well. He really hoped that they would become more accepting of the familiar. It may not take just tonight but they would accept him whether they liked it or not.

Keith, Hunk, and Pidge stared in awe at the expansive forest that stretched out behind their house. They had never seen so many trees in one place before, living in the city and all. They looked over at their masters and whooped with glee when they gave them a nod of approval. They ran across the back lawn and playfully jumped at each other. Lance looked over at Shiro hesitantly, nervously wringing his hands together. Shiro gave him a reassuring smile and gently pushing him towards the trees.

“Go introduce yourself again,” he tried. Lance nodded and quickly walked over to the laughing familiars. As he grew closer the laughter died away and they stared at his approach.

“S-so, um, I-I’m Lance,” he rubbed the back of his neck and looked down at the ground.

“Yeah, we know,” Keith annoyed voice drawled out. Lance flinched and curled up on himself a little bit.

“I’m sorry for earlier before,” he said giving him a low bow. He glanced up and noticed the confused eyes on him. He gulped and stood up straight in order to face them.

“Yeah about that, why did you apologize to Allura?” Keith asked curiously. Not that he was complaining, he’d rather throw Lance under the bus any day in order to not disappoint his master.

“Well it was my fault wasn’t it?” He asked furrowing his brows. Keith huffed and shrugged his shoulders.

“It doesn’t really matter anyway, it’s always your fault in some way,” Pidge commented cocking her hip out. Lance’s ears flattened against his head and looked at the ground again. She was right. He tried but he always messed things up in the end. He looked up when he heard a branch break and saw the three of them walking to the other side of the yard. His shoulders dropped miserably and he sunk to the ground to fiddle with the grass.

It’s okay. He could find something to do while they waited for Shiro to finish cooking. He looked around and perked up when he saw his soccer ball sitting a few feet away. With a giggle he jumped up and kicked it into the air, he caught it on the top of his head and keep bouncing it into the air off of several body parts, trying not to let it touch the ground. He kept it up for several minutes, constantly dropping it to the ground but able to pick it up again with a growing smile.

“Hey, Lance!” Someone called. He missed the ball and it bounced on the grass. He looked over to see Hunk looking at him.

“Yes?” He replied hesitantly. Hunk’s eyes fell to the soccer ball then back up to him.

“Can we use that?” He asked. Lance’s heart swelled with happiness at the question. They wanted to play with him?

“Yeah! Sure!” He said happily with a smile. He kicked the ball over and it sailed between them. They immediately started kicking to one another. Lance walked a bit closer to join but quickly realized that they were once again boxing him out.

“Oh,” he breathed out. He should have seen this coming. If they weren’t interested in you five minutes ago, why would they be interested now? His chin quivered slightly as he swallowed back tears.

“Guys! Dinner!” Shiro yelled into the darkness of the yard. Lance waited until the others made their way over before finally clambering onto the back deck. There were choruses of thanks to Shiro from the familiars before they snatched their plates and vanished back into the yard. Shiro served Lance with a smile, expecting him to jump off the deck as well. He didn’t move from his spot until Shiro was sitting in his seat. He plopped down beside Shiro’s chair and leaned onto his leg.

“Lance? What are you doing?” He asked in confusion. He didn’t answer, only dug into his food. Shiro sighed and threaded his fingers through Lance’s hair, carefully scratching behind his ears. Lance sniffed and put his plate down in order to wrap his arms around his knees. The exorcists watched in sympathy for the demon.

“They don’t like me, Shiro,” he said quietly.

“They just don’t know you yet,” Shiro tried. Lance let out a huff of laughter but didn’t lift his head up.

“Just try one more time, okay?” He pushed. Lance looked up at him, although he wasn’t crying, he could see that they were welling up quickly.

“I don’t think can,” he said miserably. Being rejected hurt more than he expected. Even though they hadn’t liked him for years, it was different now. They could talk to each other, they could understand him. The fact that his own kind were refusing to give him a chance devastated him more than Shiro ever could.

“Come on Lance, one more go and if they don’t try to make an effort, than it’s their loss,” Shiro said hopefully. Lance blinked back his tears and nodded in agreement. Shiro gave him a smile and ruffled his hair. He stood up and hopped off of the deck and slowly started making his way to where he thought they were. As he got closer he could hear their laughter and light-hearted conversation. He stopped in his tracks.

Who was he to complicate their happiness?

Why should they drop everything for him?

He turned back around and ran towards the side of the house and leaped onto the roof. They shouldn’t. He wasn’t exactly worth it after all. Just a defective demon.

He stared up at the moon. He just disobeyed an order from Shiro. It was either the thousandth time he had done it, or the first. It depended on the way you looked at it. Either way, it didn’t feel good. He wanted to be alone though. Well, not really, all he wanted was to become friends with the other demons.

He let out a low whimper as his eyes filled up again. It wasn’t so much to ask, was it? Just to have a friendly face greet him when he went into battle. Someone to ask him if he was doing okay while taking hits from ghouls. Someone to say goodbye to when he left with Shiro. He couldn’t remember much from when he was in Hell, but he can recall the stinging wound of loneliness distinctly.

All he wanted was a friend.

* * *

The three of them watched the silhouette on the roof cautiously. Hunk and Pidge looked to Keith for guidance. Ever since Lance started talking to them, it was easier to feel bad for him. They weren’t completely sure what happened to Lance that made him act out the way that he did but it didn’t excuse the missions that were often messed up because of him. The mission earlier today though, it was one of their quickest successes in their team’s history.

“I’ll talk to him first, I’ll signal you if I need you up there,” Keith decided, turning to the two familiars. They seemed hesitant to let Keith go up there alone, but he was their team leader and the most experienced familiar. They nodded their heads and sat down on the grass. Keith took the same route as Lance and climbed up. At the sound of footsteps, Lance looked over at him making Keith stop in his tracks.

In the moonlight, Lance looked strangely ethereal. He was bathed in the moonbeams. His blue eyes reflected the light making them appear glowing. Strangely, even the tears that ran down his face seemed to sparkle. It was bizarre to Keith, he had never felt anything like that before. He looked,

“Beautiful,” he breathed out. Lance’s eyes widened and he blinked wildly trying to stop his tears from falling. Keith shook his head, trying to clear the thoughts from it.

“Why were you crying?” He asked approaching him slowly. Lance furrowed his brows.

“In case you haven’t noticed, everyone here hates me,” he said shortly. Keith swallowed and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Well, it’s just that you don’t talk to us for five years and suddenly you want to be friends with us,” he tried to explain.

“I’ve told you why that was,” Lance sighed putting his cheek in his hand. Keith looked down at the ground, he was beginning to see the error of his ways. Pidge and Hunk were basically following his lead after all.

“You’re right,” Keith agreed quietly. Lance’s face slipped from his hand in shock.

“What?”

“I wasn’t willing to listen to you,” he admitted. He sat down beside Lance and put his hand on his knee, “but I’m ready to start,”

Lance looked at him in absolute shock. Slowly a smile spread across his face and he wrapped his arms around Keith. After a few minutes, he pulled away from the fox with a blush.

“Sorry, I haven’t had many hugs over the years,” he said with a blush. Keith smiled and got to his feet. He held out a hand which Lance took after a moment of hesitation and pulled him to his feet.

“Well, then I’ve got a treat for you,” he said. He leapt off the roof, never letting go of Lance’s hand. They easily landed in front of Hunk and Pidge making them jump up in surprise. Their eyes shifted from Keith to Lance, to their intertwined hands. Immediately, Pidge got a shit eating grin on her face and nudged Hunk with her elbow.

“Keith’s in love,” she whispered dramatically. Hunk granted her a small smile but still looked at Lance warily.

“Guys, this is Lance,” he introduced for him with a flourish.

“Yes, we know,” Pidge deadpanned. She wasn’t sure what happened between them up there, but as long as Keith had a good enough impression it was good enough for her. Hunk, on the other hand, was more cautious, Keith was known to make bad decisions. At the hesitation from Hunk, Keith decided to chime in.

“So fun fact about Lance, he’s had like three hugs in the last five years,”

Hunk let out a scandalized gasp and instantly scooped him up into his arms. Lance looked at him with wide eyes but as the warm started seeping into his skin he melted into Hunk’s arms. He rubbed his head against Hunk’s chin and started purring contently.

“Oh my god, that’s adorable,” Hunk gushed with stars in his eyes. He placed Lance back down after a few minutes and put his hand on Lance’s head.

“Wow man, five years and nothing?” Pidge asked with a grimace. Lance shrugged and kicked at the ground.

“Well, not just the past five, actually my whole life,” he admitted. Hunk choked on his gasp this time when he scooped him up.

“I am not letting you down again,” he declared. Lance’s purring was interrupted by a sweet laugh as he rubbed his cheek against Hunk’s. Hunk kept true to his word and only let go of him when it was time for them to leave. They stood on the front deck as their exorcists gave their final goodbyes to each other. Keith came up in front of him and smoothed his hand down the cheek he injured earlier.

“I’m really sorry for hurting you,” he said softly. Lance blushed and pressed his cheek into the palm.

“It’s okay, Keith,” he said equally as soft.

“I will never, ever hurt you again,” he promised a determined look on his face. Lance could see the resolution in his eyes and silently nodded. They stayed frozen like that, staring into each other’s eyes.

“NOT IN MY HOUSE!” Shiro yelled, karate chopping Keith’s arm making it flop to his side. Keith looked at him with wide eyes as he picked up Lance protectively.

“Don’t expect to get everything just because you’re the bad boy demon,” Shiro said looking down at Keith. He rubbed his arm in pain and looked over at the others. Shiro backed away to the front door, his eyes never leaving the fox demon.

“I’ve got my eyes on you, Keith,” he whispered pointing at his own eyes then pointing over at Keith. He backed into the house and quietly shut the door behind him.

“He’s achieved maximum dad-ness,” Allura said in awe.


	4. Chapter 4

To say that Shiro was annoyed, would be an understatement. He never found anything wrong with Keith’s behaviour before they became aware of the problems with his summoning circle. However, that was before he was becoming increasingly protective over his familiar.

* * *

The first thing that Shiro noticed was that Keith was actively trying to get closer to Lance. Now it wouldn’t have bothered him at all since he was trying to get them to be closer.

If, and only if, Keith stopped getting so close that he literally tripped over him in order to get to Lance. He let it go the first few times since Hunk and Pidge were also part of the group and he would have the whole ride home and rest of the day to tell Lance how great he did during the mission. It didn’t hurt that Lance pushed away from all of them after a few minutes and made his way to Shiro himself waiting for praise. Which he readily gave.

Sure he had to get used to the fact that the other familiars wanted to spend so much time with Lance, but he was happy. For Lance to finally have some friends and that he now could get to know the familiars even better than he did before.

So now he had to get used to being mobbed by the three of them as soon as he and Lance walked into Headquarters for training, (something that was previously loathed by both of them). Lance’s eyes would still bug out whenever that happened. Like he couldn’t believe that they still wanted to be his friend and expected for them to just drop him after a few weeks. It was always disheartening to see but Shiro was determined to change his mindset one day and help him gain more confidence.

Over the course of a few months, Hunk and Pidge mobbed him less and less as they became more confident that Lance knew how much they cared about him. It was a relief to Shiro because; no offense to Hunk, but he was a giant demon who was all muscle and having that flying at you at full force always scared the shit out of Shiro. Even though Hunk would slide and envelop them in a soft hug every time, with Pidge calmly fluttering towards them behind him.

That only left Keith. When they came over that night for the barbecue, he was mostly kidding when he went into protective dad mode. He thought that it would be funny, Lance certainly thought it was when he dropped him in the house a second later. So, he was more than happy to let Keith and Lance get closer and always smiled happily at Keith when he would creep closer.

That is until Shiro started walking towards Lance after a mission to tell him how he did and get ready to head home. He was in the middle of a group hug with the other familiars making Shiro smile proudly at him, seeing how far he had come in such a short time always made him happy. As he approached, Pidge and Hunk saw him and stepped away from Lance with matching grins, but Keith stayed, his eyes boring into Shiro’s.

He went to pet Lance between the ears like he always did. When he did, Keith let out a snarl and glared up at Shiro.

_Haha, oh no you did not._

Lance pushed away from Keith in shock, hiding behind Shiro’s back. Shiro’s normally happy smile dropped like it was never even there. He snatched Keith up by the back of his collar and hauled him up, leveling him with a glare. Instantly the glare was wiped off of Keith’s face and his ears pressed against his skull in submission. Shiro didn’t say anything, just walked over to Allura, easily holding the fox demon off the ground and dropped him at her feet.

“I’m sorry Shiro, I’ve never seen him act that way,” Allura apologized not looking at Keith just yet.

“Neither have I,” he bit out. He looked down at Keith who was gazing past him, assumingly at Lance. If he thought that he could win Lance over with aggression, he had another thing coming.

* * *

No matter how you looked at it, Keith was trying to show off. He usually got the job done and nothing more, so it was pretty obvious what he was doing. Shiro looked over at Lance and facepalmed. He looked totally enraptured with the performance. Looking up again, he could tell that Keith noticed and was starting to ham it up even more.

“Lance, pay attention to your gladiators,” Shiro sighed, Lance whipped his head over to him with a blush and frantically nodded his head.

“Yes, Master,” he squeaked out before turning back to the sparring bot. When he glanced over, he saw Keith’s ears flattened against his head and looking more put out than he thought he would. With a dead-eyed glare, Keith yelped and turned back to his gladiators.

Obviously, he wouldn’t be able to keep the two of them apart forever, but he would hold it off for as long as he could. As long as he could intimidate Keith, he wouldn’t be getting very close to Lance.

“Alright, everybody, let’s move on to group formations and spirit weapons,” Allura commanded, they all nodded and moved away from the gladiators and instead to the centre of the training room. He could see Keith eying Lance slightly from his position with a blush on his face.

As soon as they started their drills, he could tell that Keith was trying to get Lance’s attention again. He could admit that the footwork and fancy strikes were impressive to watch. Until he smacked directly into a wall.

He yelped and jumped back, his spirit weapon disappearing into light. His ears pressed against his head and he held his hands over his nose. Shiro could see his eyes becoming watery and his face flush completely red as embarrassment started taking over.

“Keith! What happened?” Allura demanded standing in front of him, her foot tapping rapidly. Keith looked up at her ashamed and directed his gaze to the floor instead, not able to look her in the eye anymore.

“Well?” She prodded.

“I’m sorry Master,” he said quietly. Allura sighed and held the bridge of her nose in her fingers.

“We’re taking a break,” she called out before walking over to join the other exorcists. Leaving the demons to huddle around Keith, worry etched on their faces.

“I have no idea whats going on with him, he’s not disobedient or anything but he’s just so off his game,” Allura lamented. The rest of them quirked a disbelieving brow at her.

“What?” She asked as she saw the looks.

“Do you really not see?” Coran asked. She tilted her head slightly in confusion.

“What are you talking about?”

“Keith is trying to court Lance, he’s been showing off for him,” Shiro grumbled crossing his arms.

“No offense, but it has been pretty obvious Allura,” Shay said with a shrug. They glanced over at the group and saw Lance helping up a furiously blushing Keith. They couldn’t hear what they were saying but they could see Lance talking to Keith with a big smile on his face. With every word, Keith’s face got darker and darker before he flopped his face into his hands.

“You’re telling me you never noticed that?” Shiro asked gesturing towards the two of them. Allura got a sheepish look on her face and shrugged in response.

“It’s not really a problem right? Lots of familiars court each other,”

“But it’s Keith!” Shiro argued.

“Yes, it’s Keith, what wrong with my familiar?” She asked, although the question was asked sweetly, Shiro shivered at the malice laced smile she was giving him. He stood his ground though.

“No familiar is good enough for Lance,” he declared with a huff, turning away from the group.

“Keith is the top familiar in our headquarters,” Allura argued.

“He’s got the emotional capacity of a toothpick,” Shiro deadpanned looking over his shoulder. Allura opened up her mouth, probably to defend her familiar but closed her mouth after a few moments with a glare.

“Ha!” He cheered turning to her with his finger pointed at her. “So you admit it,” he pressed.

“I was the first to summon my familiar, he spent a long time without others to talk to,” she countered stepping into Shiro’s personal space. “Plus everyone listens to him anyway, it doesn’t affect how he makes relationships,”

Shiro pouted and turned away again.

“Don’t you pout Shiro, you brought it up,” she said exasperated. “Just let them be,”

“…fine,” he mumbled after a few moments of silence.

“Good, can we get back to training now?” She asked looking at the group. They nodded and started towards the familiars again.

Fine. He would let Keith near Lance. He wasn’t going to make it easy though. He was still salty over the fact that Keith snarled at him.

* * *

Gradually the showing off stopped and instead was replaced by Keith constantly bringing Lance things. Anywhere from flowers that he picked from their battle sites to jewelry that he got from god knows where. Every time he would look at Allura she would him a helpless shrug.

Of course, Lance was just over the moon whenever Keith would come up to him with something new for him. Before long, their house was filled with overfilled vases of flowers and Lance’s room slowly gaining more and more trinkets.

“Keith, I’m really happy that you keep thinking of me but you really don’t have to keep bringing me things, you don’t have to try and impress me, I already like you,” he said with a gentle smile, when Keith walked up to him with another small box before training started for the day.

“Oh,” he seemed shocked and looked at the box in his hands. Without hesitation, he still pushed the box into Lance’s hands and stepped back.

“I like bringing you things, you deserve them,” he said with a blush, rubbing the back of his neck. Lance’s face split into a wide smile and he lifted the lid off the box. His eyes widened and he looked up at Keith again.

“Keith, I love them, thank you!” He said excitably rushing forward to wrap his arms around him. Keith froze with wide eyes and his hands lightly laying on Lance’s back. His eyes drifted over and landed on Shiro, whose eyes were narrowed dangerously. He gulped and let Lance slip away. As soon as Lance turned towards Shiro, the man’s face turned into happy sunshine again as Lance ran over to show him the earrings Keith gave to him.

“Wow, those are nice,” he commented. Lance nodded his head in agreement and reached up to take the faded blue ones out of his ears. He slipped the new blue crystal ones in replacement and put his old ones in the box. He looked around biting his lip before Shiro offered his hand.

“I can hold it for you, Lance,” he said kindly.

“Thank you, Master,” he said in relief before running back to the centre of the training room. He passed Keith with a blush and a smile before going to his gladiator. When he was sure they were busy, he approached Allura.

“Where is he getting all these things?” He asked holding the box up for emphasis.

“Don’t look so concerned Shiro, he isn’t stealing them or anything,” Allura laughed slapping him on the back. Was it that obvious that he was worried about the idea?

“He made everything he gave Lance,” she said with a proud smile.

“What? He made those?” He asked in disbelief. They were so well made.

“Yeah, turns out he was a smith when he was in Hell and didn’t remember until he started trying to make something for Lance,” Allura informed him, making Shiro wince slightly.

“He remembered?” he asked hesitantly. Every demon lost their memory of their time in Hell when they are summoned. Usually, when they regained their memories they would fall into trauma and would take a long time to recover. Because of this, the only people who can summon their familiars are exorcists, since a knight was a highly uncommon occupation in Hell and didn’t run as high of a risk for the demon. Despite what a lot of people thought, exorcist cared a lot for their familiars and didn’t want to cause them unnecessary pain.

“Yes, and he told me but right after went back to making Lance a beautiful necklace,” Allura smiled. Shiro stilled in thought. Through the trauma of remembering his past, he still made Lance a necklace?

He glanced over at the fox demon, calmly knocking back gladiators left and right.

Maybe he wasn’t as bad as he thought. There was still some salt though.

* * *

After the barbecue, having supper at Shiro and Lance’s house become a sort of tradition for them. They had so much space for the familiars to run around that they vetoed any kind of decision to change location closer to the city.

Whenever they came over, the exorcists would be stuck in the kitchen cooking and talking about their missions and the familiars would go outside playing any games they could think up. Even though there was such an age difference between the demons they all played like little kids as soon as they were given any free time.

The first few times they came over; Lance tried to teach them tricks with his soccer ball but then they discovered how much more fun it was to play tag in the forest behind the house and promptly disappeared after that. At least Shiro finally found a use for the megaphone he kept from college.

He had to admit, having people over all the time made the small house he had been living in for five years feel more like a home. It was at these meetings that the other exorcists realized how many flower bundles Keith was giving to Lance. They all thought that it was adorable, Shiro included but he couldn’t help but think what would happen if Lance had a flower allergy or something. Honestly, he would probably just suck it up and thank him anyway.

It was a good thing that as the month turned closer to summer that they decided to cook outside instead and they could watch the familiars playing in the backyard. Months after they started their tradition, the other exorcists bought Shiro an apron that had “Grill Daddy” written across the chest.

As they talked and ate, Shiro would watch how Keith interacted with Lance. He gave him plenty of warnings and corrected his behaviour and it looked like he was taking them to heart too. He could see that he was trying to better himself too though. Every time they would play tag, if he tackled Lance he would always cushion his head with his hands. He would slow down slightly and let Lance tag him and intentionally go after Hunk and Pidge instead. All with a smile on his face.

By the time it became a year after Lance’s summoning circle was corrected, Shiro was comfortable enough to let Keith pursue Lance. Keith didn’t know that though. So when he quickly pecked Lance on the cheek after a visit and subsequently tripped down the three front deck stairs, Shiro laughed and he laughed hard. He wasn’t the only one and Keith didn’t even look back before he was skittering to Allura’s car and hiding behind it. Shiro reached up and rested his hand in Lance’s hair, leisurely scratching his head and getting happy purrs in return.

He didn’t lie when he said that he would be there for Lance. If Keith ever tried to hurt him again, you better believe that he would be there immediately. He was never going to let anybody ever hurt him again.


	5. Chapter 5

As sort of a rule; only familiars were supposed to go into the actual battle against ghouls. It was far too dangerous for mortals to attempt to fight the ghoul directly and they weren’t even sure what would actually happen if a human were to directly touch the creatures. Unfortunately, they would get a chance to test it out as a ghoul fled the battlefield and instead charged for the exorcists.

The familiars ran back as fast as they could but just the sheer size of the beast was outpacing them and they could only hope that their masters would be able to dodge the ghoul until they had the situation under control again. 

They weren’t so fortunate.

Coran, Shay, and Allura were all able to escape their positions but Shiro was blocked in as the monster can barreling towards him.

Just behind the ghoul, he could see Lance sprinting as hard as possible, a desperate expression on his face as he kept his eyes on the beast. His eyes slid over to meet Shiro’s and his eyes widened pleadingly for Shiro to do something to save himself but Shiro only gave him a comforting smile just before the ghoul plowed forward through the building. 

Lance let out a cry of anguish right before his foot caught on the rubble and he slammed forward into the ground. It was nothing compared to the pain of almost certainly losing his master. Tears leaked down his cheeks and nose as he pushed himself to his hands and feet and stared down at the ground, barely processing the ensuing battle just a few hundred yards away from him. 

Nothing else mattered at that moment. He had lost someone he considered his family, he could have done something but he wasn’t fast enough to save him. He wasn’t strong enough. His chin wobbled dangerously and his ears tucked back against his head. 

Why did it  _always_  haveto be him?

Why was his life cursed to be filled with misery?

Shiro

_Shiro_

_SHIRO_

_“_ SHIRO!” He didn’t know when he started yelling. He only knew that there was an ache in his throat and his eyes were burning with salt as he sat back, his head tilted towards the sky and tail tucked between his legs. 

He didn’t react when the rest of his team gathered around him or when Keith crouched down beside him and pulled him against his chest, resting his chin protectively over Lance’s head.

He just continued screaming at the heavens, begging anyone who would listen to tell him where his family had been taken. No matter where he came from he just wanted answers, even if it came from the sky.

The only real “good” thing that came out of the incident was that Lance didn’t disappear after a few minutes which meant that Shiro wasn’t dead and their contract hadn’t been broken. So the search for the exorcist started.

It didn’t help the deep depression that Lance ultimately fell into though. Without Shiro constantly by his side, he began to question himself and his worth on a team that at the moment had no place for him. He ended up feeling even more guilty as he realized that he was invaded both Keith and Allura’s space since they had brought him back to live in their penthouse until Shiro could be located. With that he ended up staying alone in his and Keith’s bed as the rest of the team went out to complete missions and head out in search parties to attempt to find his Master.

Keith laid with him whenever he had the time, combing his fingers through his hair and wiping away the tears the rolled down his cheeks. It was hard to leave Lance during that time, it felt like he was tearing away a piece of his own soul whenever he had to leave the house with Lance still inside.

“I love you,” he would quietly call back into the house as Allura waited at the door.

“I love you too,” he would faithfully repeat back each time, but it always sounded hopeless to his ears.

No matter what would happen to Lance or if they would ever find Shiro; he knew that he would always be at his side. It significantly improved his mood, being constantly wrapped in Keith’s arms and sleeping by his side gave him a strong sense of companionship and love that he so desperately missed and was craving.

It was months before they finally found him again. 

They could never explain what exactly happened to him and he claimed to not have any memory of the months he spent missing. 

Lance was overjoyed at the news and excitedly waited for the group to come back to the entrance hall of headquarters.

He was happy for a grand total of two minutes.

Shiro let him close for that amount of time before catching him off guard with a swift slap to the side of the face.

“Why didn’t you protect me?” He snarled, his hand still raised threateningly towards the cowering Lance. He had scurried back, muscles trembling and tail tucked submissively. 

Out of the years that they spent together, even with the botched summoning; Shiro had never physically harmed him, instead opting for spells that he knew wouldn’t cause actual damage. He knew of familiars that suffered worse fates.

“Let’s go,” he commanded, turning and marching out of the building, Lance quickly padding behind him. With a quick glance back, he saw the rest of their team staring at Shiro with gobsmacked expressions, seemingly not knowing what to do. He decided it would be best just to listen and quickly caught up to the retreating figure.

* * *

It started with Shiro just forgetting to do certain things for Lance. For one was food; despite his ability to quickly pick up on many activities, he was a horrible cook and would end up burning anything that he attempted to make. So when Shiro started only making enough portions for himself and leaving Lance to scavenge for himself each day, he was rightfully confused. He didn’t dare ask though, not after his drastic shift in attitude after he was found. Most nights he would go to bed with a meager amount stale leftovers in his stomach or sometimes nothing at all.

That wasn’t the worst thing though; it was the times that Shiro would leave for days on end without warning between missions; leaving him an anxious, worried wreak until he came home again. During his time away he couldn’t eat, sleep, or do basically anything because his only thought was:

_Maybe he finally decided to leave._

He couldn’t get the thought out of his head, even though Shiro before told him time and time again that he wouldn’t be leaving Lance, not over his dead body.

Every time that door slammed without him being on the outside, he felt that promise slipping further from his fingers.

It just snowballed after that; instead of the cheerful and warm young man, there was a cold calculating figure that lived alongside Lance. He attempted to make himself scarce in his own home, frightened to even interact with the man who called himself Lance’s master.

All he could think of was that he returned to the living Hell that was his life for the past five years but it was even worse. He felt himself shrinking beside the man when they walked through headquarters and he didn’t even have the confidence to keep his head up anymore.

The worst part was that Shiro didn’t want anything to do with Lance anymore. Before he would scoop him up at random times like someone would do with an ordinary housecat and just hold him in his arms. Or he would ruffle his hair and ask him about his day. Sometimes he would just seek him out for a short chat, but none of that happened anymore, he just kept getting lonelier and lonelier.

“I don’t know what to do, it’s like we went back to before but just so much worse,” he finally went to Keith with his doubts and they curled up on the couch. “He won’t even look at me anymore,”

“Even when we weren’t on the same page, I knew that he cared but it’s like he doesn’t even want me anymore,” a short sniffle left him and he looked in Keith’s eyes as if begging for an explanation.

“Why doesn’t he want me?” At that moment, Keith wished that he could give Lance all of the answers in the world but he couldn’t say anything.

* * *

It was almost like he was having a nightmare after the first accident, watching his Master come closer and closer to death every second he spent trying to save him.

Lance watched helplessly as the car was vaulted up into the sky by the gigantic ghoul and without much intervention from anybody, fell on top of Shiro, crushing him from the torso down. Lance’s eyes widened in horror and he sprinted over to struggling body of his master. He was already sobbing as he attempted to push and pull at the metal framework.

“I’m sorry Master, I’m so sorry,” he apologized over and over again, begging the man for forgiveness. He only paused when a hand gripped tightly at his ankle and he looked down. Shiro was glaring up at him, hatred in his eyes.

“Why are you always so weak?” He growled before his eyes glazed over and he limply fell to the ground. Lance could only stare at the ground, a million thoughts running through his head.

_He was right, I never do anything right._

_It’s my fault that Master is dead._

_Why am I even on Earth?_

_Why was I chosen to be trusted?_

He didn’t hear the group gathered at his back and look at the body of their dead friend and teammate. They watched Lance carefully, knowing that he would be departing back to Hell within minutes after his contract broke.

But he never did.

Instead, the body’s skin sizzled away leaving behind a creature.

“What is that?” Allura asked in shock, eyeing the creature.

“It’s a changeling,” Lance muttered in shock, his eyes widening at the revelation.

“So that,” Keith trailed off.

“Wasn’t Shiro,” Lance confirmed.

“So where is he?”

“I don’t know,” Lance mumbled, getting up from where he knelt. Instead of the sadness that was previously pooled in his stomach, there was a new sense of determination. For months, the depths of Hell had been tricking him and playing with his mind. Now he knew that they had Shiro and tried to replace him. So it was his turn to fight back.

It was his turn to find Shiro.


	6. Chapter 6

It didn’t matter that right now he should one of the happiest creatures on the planet; man or demon. It didn’t matter that he was surrounded by his friends, who all just wanted the best for him. It didn’t even matter that Keith was sitting beside him, with a hopeful but subdued expression on his face. **  
**

Of course, he knew, they all knew, and they understood why he couldn’t be happy.  

Shiro was still gone. His master. His family; and he couldn’t do anything about it.

“What?” His voice came out raspy and shocked.

“It’s just a thought,” Keith replied, a blush dusting his cheeks. He reached out and took Lance’s limp hands in his own. “I love you so much Lance and I know that for as long as I’m on this Earth, I want to spend it with you,”

Lance bit his lip and looked down at their intertwined fingers.

“Keith,” he sighed, his ears pressing down against his head.  

“It doesn’t need to be soon, I know it’s a hard time for you right now but I just want you to think about it, please Lance,” Keith implored, leaning forward to brush his lips against Lance’s. He cupped his cheek and tilted his head up to face him, his ears drooping slightly when he saw the tears welling up in Lance’s eyes.

“You’re not alone,” he whispered pulling him forward to rest against his chest. Lance choked back a sob, curling further into his warmth and clutching onto the fabric of his shirt.

“I know, but sometimes it feels that way,”

“Just know that I’ll be with you every step of the way, whether we’re married or not, I will never leave you, not if I can help it,” Keith promised, threading his fingers through Lance’s hair.  

Lance’s throat felt like it was closing in on itself as the happy memories he had with Shiro flooded his mind. Coming home after missions exhausted but proud of their accomplishments, sharing dinner together, him getting protective when Keith tried to court him. Everything he ever wished for when he was first summoned.

He sniffed at the slightly fading memories of Shiro’s smiles that soon turned back into sneers and glares when the changeling appeared instead.

He remembered the last night before he disappeared.

* * *

“Why don’t you like Keith?” Lance asked as they watched TV. He was curled up next to him, leaning into the warmth that emanated off of the man as he scratched his scalp and behind his ears.

“I like Keith,” he argued back quietly. Lance snorted and covered his mouth with his hand.

“Yeah right,” he said quietly, wrapping his arms around his middle. Shiro looked down at him with a small smile.

“If he makes you happy, then that’s good enough for me,” he said.

* * *

“He’d want me to be happy,” he whispered finally, resting his head under Keith’s chin. The chest under his hand tensed and stopped breathing altogether.

“What?” He asked quietly. Lance leaned back slightly and sent him a smile.

“Shiro. He’d want me to be happy,”  

“Does that mean…” he trailed off, his tail wagging behind him. Lance inclined his head with a soft look.

“I’ll marry you,” he confirmed. Keith let out a small gasp. His hand shot to his mouth as his breathing picked up. “Keith…are you crying?” He asked in amusement. Keith took a deep breath in through his nose before closing his eyes and nodding his head.

“Oh, Keith,” Lance smiled softly, pulling his head down to press a kiss to his forehead. “I love you so much,”

“I love you too,”

* * *

The announcement of their marriage was met with loud cheers from their friends and many congratulations from everyone they worked with; especially with Allura, Shay, and Coran who they found out were planning a bunch of things for their ceremony already.

Though they knew a lot about marriage on Earth, they knew nothing about marriage from where they came from. Unfortunately, neither did any of them since they didn’t have any memory of before they became familiars.

“You really don’t remember anything like that? Not even you Keith?” Allura asked turning to look at the fox, but he only shook his head.

“When I remembered I was a smith, that’s all that came back. There was nothing else from my past life, nothing that really makes sense anyway,” Keith admitted, rubbing the back of Lance’s hand with his thumb. “Sorry,”

“Don’t apologize, it’s not your fault, I kind of like the idea of a wedding like the ones on TV, they look fun,” Lance said softly cuddling closer to his fiancé. “Besides, the ceremony doesn’t really matter as long as you’re there,”  

Keith’s entire face flushed red at the comment and he ducked his head against Lance’s.  

* * *

One of their first stops was to a flower shop to arrange in advance. Lance tried to listen to Allura, Keith and the florist drone on about the meanings of the flowers and what would be the best for their ceremony, but his mind was drifting.

He should be here.  

His gaze went listlessly over the bundles of bouquets set around the store and the displays of flowers sitting on their own. His eyes stopped on a blinding stand filled with stargazer lilies. He glanced back at the three, still stuck in their own conversation and slipped away over to the display.

He lightly traced one of the pedals with his finger and a soft smile overcame his face.

These are perfect.

“Allura! I want these ones,” he yelled over to the woman.

“These are beautiful,” Allura agreed.

“Yes, they are but these are more meant for a funeral rather than a wedding. They symbolize loss and mourning,” the florist told them as she walked over. Both Allura and Keith looked over at Lance, he was gently examining one.

“They’re Shiro’s favourites,” was all he said. Keith gulped and walked over to comfort Lance as Allura lead the florist away to explain.

“It’s okay Keith, we don’t have to get them,” he sighed.

“No, Lance, if that what you want, that’s what we’re going to get,”  

“But it’s your day too Keith, you must want something different,” Lance tried, looking up at him imploringly. Keith let out a little laugh, tucking his finger under Lance’s chin to angle his head towards him.

“All I want is for you to be there,”

“Christ, you’re gonna make me cry,” Lance huffed.

“You cry all the time anyway,” Keith laughed, squeezing him with a cheeky grin.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,”

* * *

One thing that Lance always remembered from any of the shows or movies he watched with weddings was the rings. There was just something about rings that made everything real. He eagerly awaited when Keith would show him what he got him for a ring, be it an engagement ring or the wedding ring. It never happened though.

He wasn’t sure why the rings were something that Keith didn’t like but it was one of the things that Lance was the most hopeful about getting. At that moment, he wasn’t even thinking about the rings per say, but they were always in the back of his mind; even when he was shopping with Allura after checking on their clothes for the ceremony.

He was a fan of window shopping, although there was never really anything that ever caught his eye. Not until then anyway.

He stopped in his tracks and stared at the ring that sat beautifully on its podium.

“Lance?” Allura asked looking back but he only pointed at the ring. “Oh, did you want that for Keith?”

“Should I? I mean Keith hasn’t gotten me a ring, would this be pushing it?” He asked, wringing his hands together nervously.

“Lance, you’re getting married,” Allura deadpanned, ignoring the blush that covered Lance’s cheeks.

“Yeah, but is it too much? I mean, look at it,”

He was kind of right in that sense. It was a bold yellow gold, lined with rubies. Not exactly the typical looking wedding rings, but really the couple wasn’t all that typical either.

“Keith would love anything that you got him,” Allura said with a smile. Lance let out a huffed laugh and half rolled his eyes.

“He would thank me for dirt that I picked up off the floor, that doesn’t exactly mean that he likes it,”

“Maybe so, but I think you’d be surprised,” Allura said before grabbing Lance’s arm and dragging him into the store.

It took much less convincing to leave the store with the ring than he thought it might. He could practically feel it burning against his side as he carried it back. He didn’t question Allura as she slipped away at the entrance of the apartment when Keith came to greet them.

“Did everything go well?” Keith asked as he took Lance’s hand and lead him over to the couch.

“Uh, yeah, everything was fine, our clothes look good,” he said quietly, holding the bag close to his chest.

“What do you have there?” He asked curiously, tilting his head in confusion.

“I got you something,” he said pushing the package over to Keith. “Please tell me if you don’t like it,”

Keith watched him in confusion before unwrapping the little box. He opened the lid and gasped at the ornate ring. He looked over at Lance with sparkling, excited eyes.

“Lance, I love it!” He assured him, pulling him close into a hug. Lance let out a sigh of relief and smiled into Keith’s chest. “I have something for you too,” he said, jumping up from the couch and running into their room. He returned a second later, his hands behind his back and a wide grin on his face.

“It’s not an as nice presentation but,” he trailed off, circling Lance’s wrist and bringing it forward to drop a ring in his palm. Lance blinked quickly bringing it up to his eyes to examine. It was the complete opposite of the ring that he had gotten Keith; gleaming silver with sparkling sapphires pressed into the metal. He turned it over, his heart racing and stopped when he caught sight of the inside.

**_My Ocean_ **

He looked up at Keith, one hand secured around the ring, the other pressed against his heart.

“I love it, Keith,” he whispered. Keith’s ears perked up and he leaned forward to kiss Lance.

“I’m glad, I’m sorry it took so long but I wanted to make it for you,”

“You made this!?”

He nodded, his cheeks a dark red.

“It’s beautiful, thank you, Keith,” he said, kissing his cheek.

“Anything for you,”

* * *

He tried to get out as much crying as possible before he was actually supposed to be meeting Keith. As the hours ticked closer to the ceremony, he realized how much he was regretting that Shiro wasn’t going to be there.

He tried his best to smile at his friends as they came in to visit him. It wasn’t hard to tell that any of the tears that were shed weren’t exactly from happiness at the moment. He didn’t have to fake the smile that came when he met with Keith though and his smile was blinding as they walked to the clergy together, hand in hand.

But it always came back to the fact that he wasn’t supposed to be getting married without Shiro. He wasn’t supposed to be taking the next step without his support. He watched Allura step forward in Shiro’s place; as much as he loved her, she wasn’t supposed to be there.

Keith’s hand slid down his arm to take his hand. Lance closed his eyes, letting the tears fall and pressed his forehead against Keith’s shoulder. He let out a happy purr when Keith turned to kiss the top of his head.

They were about to kiss when the chapel’s doors slammed open and a priest ran in out of breath.

“A ghoul’s attacking the city,” he wheezed, leaning with his hands on his knees. The familiars and exorcists glanced at each other before scrambling out the doors. Keith took the extra second to turn to Lance and give him a quick peck on the lips and smile reassuringly.

“We’ll be back soon,” he promised.

As he watched his fiance run out the door, he felt less like a lucky man and more like he was being left at the altar. He turned to the clergy and bowed.

“Thank you for your time,” and walked out of the door. He found himself outside, wandering the grounds until he approached the city view, where he could see the giant form of the ghoul.

He watched the battle, wincing anytime he saw one of his teammates get batted away by the creature. As he watched, he realized that the movements looked strangely familiar. The strange powers that emanated through its hands as it swatted at the familiar, caused a strange sense of foreboding to course through his body.

A bright pulse of purple light lit up the sky for a second, and he knew.

Right before the building was run through, before Shiro’s disappeared, the same purple light shone in the sky. He didn’t remember until that point, too disturbed by his master’s disappearance and too haunted to try and delve back into them.

“That’s the ghoul that took Shiro,” he breathed out in realization. Immediately, he jumped into action, falling onto all fours to run towards the battle. His legs burned and his lungs scratched uncomfortably as he panted out harshly. He ignored the calls of the other exorcists as he aimed for the monster.

His blood pumped through his veins as anger suddenly took over.

They had taken his master. One of the only people who he cares about, who cares about him in return. They were going to pay, and he was going to get him back. No matter the cost.

He leapt, his claws catching on the edge of one of the buildings and quickly scaled to the top. He could hear their yelling, Keith commanding the rest, their affirmations. It had been so long since he saw the heat of battle. Some would be afraid to put their lives on the line like they did, but it was nothing but a thrill to them. Without a sound, his rifle materialized into his hands and he aimed towards the ghoul. Every shot rang true, doing quick work of antagonizing the beast and getting it to charge at him. He ignored the cries of his friends and kept firing. He let the rifle disappear after a few moments.

He stood on the edge of the building, watching the ghoul hurl itself towards him. He saw Keith frantically trying to catch up or pass it, whatever it took to just. Make. It. Stop.

Is this what Shiro saw? Did he see the desperation? The panic? Did he know how bad it would hurt Lance when he left?

“LANCE! MOVE!” Keith screamed.

It was strange. He didn’t feel fear. He wasn’t concerned in the least. For all he knew, he could have been facing his own death. He looked past the ghoul and locked eyes with Keith’s. The beast was on him now.

“I’m sorry,”


	7. Chapter 7

“LANCE!” He shrieked, summoning his weapon. It lit up brightly, changing into a bright pillar of light before swinging it towards the ghoul. He screamed in anguish, tears flowing freely down his face.

The ghoul roared out pitifully as the light consumed its massive body. He leapt on the creature’s face, staring down at it in contempt before stabbing down in a final attack. Allura watched in shock, the power surrounding Keith was like none she’d ever seen before. He landed in a cloud of dust in front of her.

“Kei-,” she could barely get out before he sprinted away from her towards the demolished building.

“LANCE!” He screamed, digging through the rubble. Concrete and rebar sliced through his hands as he searched, dotting the destruction with blood. He barely blinked, afraid he would miss something in that split second. He continued to scream his husband’s name, every call felt like a shard of glass lodging in his throat until he couldn’t scream anymore.

They could only watch their leader fall apart in his grief, scream his voice hoarse, and collapse helplessly in the fallen rubble. He fell to his knees, sobbing as he tried to dig with shaking hands.

“Please Lance,” he whispered, pleading “don’t do this to me,”

* * *

The sharp, acrid smell of brimstone would be almost nauseating if it weren’t so familiar to him. It seemed that some things just can’t be forgotten.

“Hello!” He called, eyes darting around the dark, smoky landscape. “Is anyone there?” Smoke curled around wistfully, creating illusions of people that were just out of sight. He felt like he was being watched from every possible direction, the feeling of paranoia spiking every second he spent there.

“I-I think I’m lost,” he called, nervous tears building up in his eyes. He stumbled through the land, rubbing at his eyes and nose when the burning of tears or sulfur became too much. He wished he was at home, he wished he was enjoying his wedding, he wished for his friends, Keith and… Shiro.

What was he thinking? Why did he have to get himself in this situation? He was happy, or as happy as he could have been at that time in his life. He was in love, he got married, he had the most amazing friends in the world. The most amazing husband but…. he threw it all away. All because of a dumb idea. Something he had no way of knowing was even possible. He didn’t think about Keith at all; why did he always have to be so selfish.

“Shiro!” He suddenly cried helplessly. He didn’t know what to do, he didn’t know what to feel. Did he deserve it because of his selfishness? Because he didn’t think before he acted? He just wanted to be happy.

His ear perked up at the sound of something sliding over rocks behind him and he quickly whipped around, only to slam into the ground. Another demon tackled him, caging him in with his knees and pointing a staff threateningly at his face. Lance’s ears lowered in submission and he tucked his chin down to protect his throat. His eyes stayed glued to the staff for a moment before darting to his attacker’s face. His blood ran cold like ice.

“Pidge?” He asked in complete bafflement. For a moment, their eyes widened in shock before narrowing dangerously.

“How do you know that name?” The voice was deep, obviously not Pidge but someone who looked remarkably like them. The staff dug into his chest after a few more seconds of silence and Lance rushed to explain his relationship with his teammate. The man, watched him silently, only his eyes betraying his concern. After the short explanation, he nodded and moved off of Lance.

“I think you should come with me,”

Lance gulped and scuttled backwards. He huffed and rolled his eyes, crossing his arms in front of him. It felt like he was looking at Pidge, from the disgruntled expression to the annoyed posture and he couldn’t help but trust him. He cautiously got up and followed the man into the smoke.

“Where are we going?” He asked after a few minutes of quiet walking. The man doesn’t respond. “Just to let you know, if you kill me, there are a lot of people who’d be pretty upset,”

“Oh yeah? Got a lot of friends?” The man laughs, looking back at him.

“Yeah I do, and a wonderful husband!” Lance preens happily, ignoring for a moment that he was nowhere near his family. “Speaking of which, how do you know Pidge?”

He seems to hesitate for a second before sighing.

“I’m her brother, the name’s Matt,”

“Her brother!? I didn’t know she had a brother,”

“Yeah well, I don’t exactly think she’d remember,” he stated sadly.

* * *

“Keith, we have to go,” Allura said softly, coming up slowly from behind the distraught familiar. Keith slowly shook his head, not facing her.

“I can’t go,” he replied.

“Keith we must, there isn’t much time,” she insisted.

“I have to find him,” he croaked.

“He has to be summoned again, Keith,”

“What?”

“When a familiar dies, they return to Hell, we have to summon Lance again,”

“But I thought only Shiro could summon him,” Keith said weakly, wiping away his tears.

“We have ways Keith, it’s not too late but we have to go now,” she insisted, reaching out with her hand.

* * *

It wasn’t long until they came across a small opening in the side of a sheer cliff. Matt went in first, turning so he could squeeze into the small space. They went in further until they could see a ratty looking curtain covering the deeper parts of the cave. Matt held it open for Lance to walk through. He looked at him strangely but did so, glancing around the homey space as he did. Matt gestured for him to move on, an easy smile on his face.

Lance stopped cold in the doorway of the next room, a small gasp escaping him.

“Hey Matt, welcome back,”

Shiro.

_Shiro._

Lance’s hands went to his mouth, trying to cover the surprised cries coming from him. He was already crying happily but he couldn’t move. It didn’t feel real.

“Matt?” Shiro asked confused, turning to the doorway. His eyes landed on Lance and he dropped something in shock. “Lance?” He whispered, eyes wide. Lance wailed and ran forward, collapsing in Shiro’s warm arms. It was everything he missed, Shiro soothingly pet Lance’s head and whispered reassurances to him as he tried to calm down.

“What are you doing here?” He asked quietly.

“I had to find you,”

“You shouldn’t be here, it’s dangerous,”

“I couldn’t, I knew you weren’t dead, I couldn’t just leave you here,”

“You knew I wasn’t dead? How did you figure that out? Do we have a connection or something?” Shiro asked, pulling away from his familiar. Lance shook his head and looked away, suddenly reminded of his time with the changeling.

“What happened while I was gone, Lance?” Shiro asked. Lance gulped, he forgot how well Shiro could read him.

“There was a changeling, it came back as you,” he admitted, looking down instead. “And I didn’t realize that it wasn’t you,”

“Did it hurt you?” Was the first thing he asked, shocking Lance. He expected him to be disappointed that he didn’t recognize his Master. Lance hesitated, the changeling never hit him or anything like that, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t hurt.

“Not physically,” he decided on, looking back at Shiro. The way he was looking at him though, it was as if Lance had told him the changeling stabbed him.

“I’m so sorry Lance,”

“It wasn’t you,” he deflected.

“No, but that doesn’t mean I can’t sympathize with you,”

* * *

There was more to the summoning then he thought there’d be. Although, he didn’t think it was possible in the first place. They had to recreate Lance’s circle to perfection, then they had to acquire DNA from both Lance and Shiro to include in the circle to ensure that they would be summoning Lance, but since he was Shiro’s familiar something of his had to be present. Then they had to add spells to prevent Lance from losing his memories of his time on Earth before. So much work was being put into bringing him back, but Keith couldn’t help but have a few doubts while he was waiting in the hallway with his Master.

Allura looked over at Keith, surprised at the contemplative expression on his face.

“What’s wrong Keith?” She asked, careful not to cause a distraction inside the room. He gulped before looking at her, his face open and vulnerable.

“Do you think he even wants to come back?”

“What?” She blinked in shock, her face showing her surprise. Keith’s ears laid flat, exposing his anxiousness.

“Lance. Would he want to come back? Ever since Shiro disappeared, and we found out about the changeling, he’s been miserable. Nothing made him happier than being by Shiro’s side, it destroyed him and I couldn’t even help him.” Tears welled up in Keith’s eyes and he struggled to brush them away. “Being here would be a constant reminder of everything he’s lost,”

Allura watched him for a moment, two sides warring each other in her mind. On one hand, she could understand where Keith was coming from, on the other, she wanted to smack him on the head for thinking like that.

“You know Lance loves you right?” She asked carefully. Keith nodded hesitantly, watching her warily. “And you love Lance?”

“More than anything in the world,”

“If you were in his situation, where would you want to be? Back with the ones, you love, or someplace you don’t completely remember?” Keith gasped slightly at the question, reality finally sinking in. “Lance has been with us for so long, he doesn’t remember what Hell was for him and I hate to say this but he’s probably alone and scared right now,”

Keith gulped and nodded, if it was in relief or concern, he didn’t really know. Silently he slunk forward and pressed his face to Allura’s shoulder. She smiled sadly and pet his ears back comfortingly.

“Master Allura?” One of the priests stuck their head out of the room. “We’re ready,”

She pulled away from Keith with a comforting smile, Keith wiped away his tears unable to return the gesture and they headed inside.

* * *

“You and Keith are married!?”

Lance laughed merrily, nodding and wiping away a tear.

“When did that happen?”

“I don’t know, a while ago? But we were just married recently,” he smiled serenely before sighing. “But now we have to figure out a way to get out of Hell,”

“I wouldn’t worry about that, they’re most likely working on summoning you again right now,” Shiro stated.

“They can do that?” Matt asked in shock.

“Well yeah, there’s not many things that can take a demon completely out of commission,” Shiro explained, before looking over at Lance. “It looks like it’s already started,” he said, poking Lance in the forehead where a dot of glowing blue light appeared. Lance shrieked, jumping up and attempting to rub the light away somehow. Both Shiro and Matt laughed as the light spread down Lance’s body all the way to the tip of his tail.

“They’re almost complete,” Shiro commented offhandedly, making Lance come to a stop. He looked over at the two of them contemplatively before seemingly coming to a decision.

“Lance?” Matt asked in concern. Lance nodded to himself and launched at the two of them, wrapping his arms around their necks. With a big flash of light, they shot into the sky. Both Shiro and Matt screamed in panic at the speed they were ascending.

“WHAT THE FUCK!” Matt wailed, clutching onto Lance with his talons.

“I’M TAKING YOU BITCHES WITH ME!” He screamed back with a sharp grin.

* * *

He watched the bright circle unblinking, it glowed steadily brighter. He didn’t know how long it would take, neither did any of the priests. To them, it was always different, depending on what type of familiar it was or how eager they were to return to the surface. That was the part Keith was afraid of, what if Lance never reappeared? What if he was right and Lance didn’t want to come back? He didn’t want to think of the possibility but according to the priests, it was just as likely.

He expected maybe Lance to be thinking about it in Hell, or make them wait for a little while before reappearing.

He didn’t expect for the room to immediately burst into blinding light. The power boomed throughout the headquarters, knocking everyone to the ground; Keith included. It took a few dizzying seconds to pull his head off the ground but when he did, his heart almost exploded.

Right in front of him was his husband.

“LANCE!” He cried happily, scooping the cat familiar up in his arms. It took a few seconds but Lance wrapped his arms around his neck and purred happily as he nuzzled closer.

“Keith,” he sighed happily. Keith wept, holding him close to his chest.

“I can’t believe you went to Hell on our wedding day,” he said, sniffing slightly. Lance looked sheepish for a second before glancing over Keith’s shoulder and smiling.

“Uhh, speaking of which,” he trailed off as a shadow fell over their forms. Keith blinked, confused before looking behind him. Or rather above them.

“I don’t think you asked for permission to marry my son,” Shiro stood above him, his arms crossed as he looked menacing down at him. The effect was slightly ruined when the other exorcists ran to him and clung on for dear life.

“Shiro,” he said in disbelief. Shiro laughed, giving the two of them a wide smile.

“Welcome home,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm hoping to do a short story after this with Matt and Pidge but I'm unsure when that will actually happen. I hope everyone enjoyed this series!!

**Author's Note:**

> Come visit me at my Tumblr too!: https://blueplanettrash.tumblr.com/


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